Women's cricket in Afghanistan to resume soon; will Taliban govt live up to its commitment to ICC?
ICC on Sunday said the Afghanistan government supports the world body's constitution and has "in principle" agreed to resuming women's cricket in the country.
FollowThe ICC announced on Sunday that the Afghan government respects the constitution of the international organisation and has "in principle" approved the return of women's cricket to the nation.
Due to the radical changes in the political climate brought on by the Taliban taking over the country, Afghanistan cricket, particularly the women's game, was in a state of uncertainty last year.
According to reports, the Taliban government forbade Afghan women from participating in sports, including the national women's cricket team.
The ICC then established a Working Group to evaluate the nation's standing in cricket. The Afghanistan Working Group provided an update to the Board, outlining a recent meeting in Doha with a representative of the Afghan government and the Afghanistan Cricket Board.
The government representative, according to the ICC, reaffirmed their dedication to upholding the ICC constitution in its entirety and adhering to its requirements for diversity and inclusivity as well as the ACB's independence from outside intervention.
"The meeting was positive and respectful, and the government representative was clear in his support for the ICC constitution, including in principle for women's cricket in Afghanistan," Working Group Chair Imran Khwaja said.Â
"There are obviously challenges for it to resume, but we will continue to work with the ACB to take this forward. The Working Group will closely monitor the commitment undertaken by the Afghanistan government and will continue to report back to the ICC Board," he added.
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It is an ICC requirement for full members to also have a national women's team besides the men's side. Afghanistan is one of the full members of the ICC.Â
Afghanistan's men's team participated in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cup. The Working Group also includes Ross McCollum (Ireland chair), Ramiz Raja (Pakistan chair) and Lawson Naidoo (SA chair).
(With inputs from PTI)
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